Nailing machine



May 18, 1943 A. E. RICHARDS ErAL NAILING MAcHiNE `Filed June l5, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet `l A. E. RICHARDS EI'AL NAILING MACHINE May 18, 1943 Filed June 1s, 1941 s sheets-sheet 2V May 18, 1943 A. E. 'RICH-Ams am r 2,319,348

NAILING MACHINE Filed 'June l5, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 18, 1943 NAILING MACHINE Alfred Edward Richards and Maurice Roberts, Leicester, England, assignors to Unite-d Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New `lersey Application June 13, 1941, Serial No. 397,934 In Great Britain `uly 26, 1940 12 Claims.

This invention relates to nailing machines and is illustrated herein as embodied in an improved machine of the general type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 932,535, granted August 1, 1909, on an application filed in the name of Louis A. Casgrain.

In the manufacture of military boots, for example, it has been found advantageous to insert in the soles of said boots improved hobnails such as disclosed in British Letters Patent No. 542,772, and having hexagonal, frusto-pyramidal heads and shanks of rectangular cross section. Although the machine disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 932,535 has been found to be satisfactory for the purpose of inserting hobnails having heads of round cross-sectional shape into the soles of boots, such machine has not proved satisfactory in inserting nails having heads of other than round shape. For example, there is no provision in the machine disclosed in said patent for controlling the angular orientation `of the heads of the nails about the axes of the Shanks .of said nails so that such nails can be inserted in the sole of the looot with their heads in a parallel relation, for example, to eachother and the longer dimension of the heads arranged atright angles to the adjacent edge of the sole.

It is an object of the present invention to provide` a machine for quickly and effectively inserting improved hobnails of the general type disclosed in said British Letters Patent No. 542,772, in the soles of boots or shoes.

The illustrative machine is hereinafter described with reference to inserting hobnails such as disclosed in saidapplication, said nails lhaving '(a) heads of hexagonal, frusto-pyramidal shape in which the dimension of the hexagcn in one direction is considerably Ygreater than the dimension in a direction at right angles to the first direction, and having (b) shanks of rectangular cross section in which the longer dimension of lsuch section is arranged at right angles to the greater dimension or length of the heads of the nails. Hobnails with shanks of rectangular cross section are employed with the intention that the angular orientation of the nails may be controlled during the passage of the nails along an inclined raceway, since with vshanks of such form the raceway may be used to `prevent fortuitous rotation of the nails about the axes of their shanks as the nails travel along the raceway.

With the foregoing in View, the illustrative machine is provided With an inclined raceway having means for orienting nails traveling .down the same, in order that the direction of the `tion of the separating member.

length of the heads of the nails shall extend transversely of the raceway (that is, so that the longer dimension of the cross-sectional `shape of the Shanks of the nails extends at least substantially parallel to the raceway), said means, in accordance with a feature of this invention, comprising an orienting portion provided with-.downwardly convergent side walls which merge at their bases with a nail guiding slot which is of the same uniform Width as and is continuous with a slot formed in a lower or delivery portion of the raceway. In the illustrative machine, the opposite side Walls of a lower half of the orienting portion diminish in height above adjacent portions of the slot as they extend down the raceway toward the delivery portion of said -race- Way. Nails notoriented in the upper `hall" of the orienting portion are oriented inthe lower half of said portion in which they tend to lift out of the raceway, but their Weight and the action of a spring Whichbears downwardly against the heads of the nails tend to force them into the raceway. The sloping side Walls act to rotate the Shanks of the nails until the shorter dimension of the Shanks extends transversely of the abovementioned uniformly Wide slot so that the Shanks can be received in the slot, with the result that the nails are thereafter guided and controlled during their movement down the delivery portion of the-raceway with the longer dimension of their heads extending Widthwise of the raceway. The illustrative machine is also provided with means for separating the nails individually from the raceway, the separating means comprising a separating member arranged for movement in a path substantially parallel to the length o f Athe raceway and provided with a vieldaole end portion having surfaces arranged to engage the cad of the endmost one of la series of nails in the raceway and to deliver it to a passage in a nail receiving block of the machine, the orientation of the nail being controlled during the separating process by said surfaces on the `end por- When the nail has been delivered to said passage in the nail receiving block, its orientation is thereafter -controlled by the cross-sectional shape of the passage therethrough Which corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the head of the nail. This passage leads to an alined passage of corresponding shape in the throat of the machine from which the nail is driven by means of a vertically reciprocating driver. The nail separating and driving means is disclosed and claimed in a divisional application Serial No. 428,234, led January 26, 1942.

The above and various other features of the invention will be understood and appreciated from the following detailed description read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the illustrative machine, parts of which, including a column and a work supporting horn similar to corresponding portions of the machine disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 932,535, have been omitted;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of nail separating mechanism of the machine;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the raceway of the machine;

Fig. :3a shows in detail a raceway clearer viewed along line lIIa-IIIa of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 is a plan View of a nail orienting portion of the raceway;

Fig. 5 is a view, partly in section, on line V-V of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line VI-VI of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6a is an enlarged showing of the upper portion of Fig. 6;

Fig. '7 is a sectional View on line VII-V1I of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a detail View in front elevation of a nail controlling arm and a lower end portion of a raceway cover of the machine;

Fig. 9 is a view of parts illustrated in Fig. 2, looking in the direction of arrows IX-IX of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a view on line X-X of Fig. 1, showing f a nail receiving block, a throat, and nail controlling fingers of the illustrated machine;

Fig. 11 shows a section on line XI-XI of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a view in front elevation of the lower end of a driver of the machine;

Fig. 13 is a detail view of portions of nail feeding mechanism of the machine;

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of a hobnail which the illustrative machine is adapted to drive into soles of boots; and

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a portion of a boot into the sole of which hobnails such as shown in Fig. 14 have been driven by the use of 24. The nail has a frusto-pyramidal head of I hexagonal cross section and a shank 26 (Fig. 14) which is rectangular in cross section, the length L of the head being greater than the width W of the same and the dimension A of the shank being greater than the dimension B of the shank and being arranged at right angles to the greater dimension or length of the head of the nail. In the iinished shoe, the lower edges 28 (Figs. 14 and 15) 0f faces 30 of the nails engage each other, with the result that a greater weight of material (with consequently greater wear resistance) can be provided along a given strip of sole 22 than is possible with corresponding nails having conventional heads of round cross section. Moreover, the wedging effect between the nails 2i) insures greater holding power between said nails than in the case of nails having heads of round cross section. Accordingly, there is considera-ble advantage in using such nails in the arrangement above described in military boots.

Although the illustrative machine is described with reference to hobnails having heads which are of hexagonal cross section, it will be understood that, with slight modications in shape, the parts of the machine can be arranged to operate on nails having heads of other than hexagonal cross section.

The illustrative machine comprises a column (not shown) on which is mounted a frame 32 (Fig. 1) having journaled therein a horizontal, forwardly and rearwardly extending cam shaft 34. Mounted upon the frame 32, as disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 932,535, is a head 36 which is arranged to swing upon the cam shaft 34. Arranged for vertical reciprocation in the head 36 are a driver bar 38 and an awl holder 40. The driver bar is arranged to be raised, on rotation of the cam shaft 34, by a cam 42 formed on a forward end portion of the cam sha-ft, the cam being arranged to engage a block 44 secured to the driver bar 38 to raise the latter. The driver bar is arranged to be forced downwardly (after the cam 42 rides out of engagement with the block 44), to drive a nail into the sole of the boot presented to the machine, =by means of a spring (not shown), such as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 490,624, granted January 24, 1893, on an application filed in the name of Louis Goddu, and referred to in said United States Letters Patent No. 932,535, the force of said spring being transmitted to the driver bar 38 by means of a link 46. The awl holder 49 is pro'- vided with an awl 48 and is arranged to be raised and lowered by means of a cam-operated rockshaft 50 which is journaled in the head 36 and to which a segment 25 is secured, the segment having teeth 54 in engagement with rack teeth 5B formed along a side of the awl holder 49. The head 36 is arranged to be swung in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, after the descent of the awl 48 to prick the sole of the boot, to eiect feeding of the latter in a well-known manner, lthe swinging of the head being effected by connections including a block 58 received in a guideway `(il) formed in a portion of the head. The block 53 is adjustably mounted on a cam-actuated arm 62 so that adjustment of the position of the block on the arm is effective to vary the amount of feeding movement imparted to the head 36.

The machine is provided with a raceway S4 (Figs 1 and 3) the construction of which will be described later in detail. The upper end portion of the raceway is received within a hopper 66 (Fig. l) comprising a stationary rear portion 63 secured on a sleeve l0 mounted xedly in a casting l2 forming p-art of the machine frame, and a rotary portion (not shown) secured to a horizontal shaft 14 journaled in the sleeve 1i). The stationary and rotary portions of the hopper 66 are lined with rubber to deaden the sound of the nails moving in the hopper. The shaft 'I4 is arranged to be rotated continuously, through a belt and pulley drive 16, from a shaft 18 journaled in bearings in the upper portion of the casting 12 and provided with a gear 89 secured thereto which is driven by a pulley (not shown). Such pulley is continuously driven from a convenient source of power and is loosely mounted on the cam shaft 34, the arrangement being such that the pulley may be clutched to the cam shaft upon depression of a treadle (not shown) in a well-known manner. The boot being operated upon is arranged to be supported by a horn (not shown) against afoot plate 82 corresponding to that indi- ,ceived 4clamping members on a bracket (not shown) secated by reference numeral 2|in said Letters Patent No. 932,535.

-As the rotary portion of the hopper 66 is operated, fins (not shown) attached to the inner face -of vsuch portion lift nails' from a bulk thereof l.

inthe hopper. and throw them 'into a stationary trough 84 (Figs. 1 and 7) supported on-a bracket 86 secured by a screw 88 tothe sleeve l0. The

trough 84 extends downwardly and `overhangs the upper portion of the raceway 64. Thepor- 'tion of the trough 84 overhanging the raceway 64 isprovided with a slot 90 which extends in a direction parallel to the length of the raceway, said slot being considerably wider than the greater cross-sectionalY dimension of the shanks i 4oi the nails but being narrower than the heads comprises two spaced plates Y92 bolted together and supported by means of two projectingportions (one of which is shown at 94, Fig. re-

in complementally-shaped grooves in cured to the head ofthe machine in the usual manner. The width oi a slot or guideway 95.(Figs.

3a, 4` and 5) formed between parallel walls 96 of the lower portion of the raceway 64 is slightly greater than the dimension B of the shanks 26 of the nails but is less than the dimension A of the Shanks. rhus, the nails 20 can only travel 4down the lower portion of the raceway 64 with the length L of their heads disposed approximately atV right angles to the length of the race- `way,tlf1is arrangement being desirable in order that the length L of the heads of the nails driven into the sole of the boot shall be disposed at approximately right angles to the adjacent edge surface of the sole. The nails 20 are arranged to be moved separately from the `raceway 64, as hereinafter described, andto be received in a nail receiving block 98 (Figs. 1 and 10) having a passage |00 (Fig. 10) the cross-sectional shape oi a lower portion of which corresponds to that of the heads of the nails. The nails are arranged to be driven into the work by means of a driver |02 (Figs. 1 and 12) having a nail engaging end portion shaped and arranged to engage the head of the nail in such a manner as tocontrol the orientation of the nail until it is fully driven into the work.

An upper portion of the raceway 64 is provided with walls |64, |66 (Figs. 3, 4 and'l) extending upwardly and outwardly from parallel walls |08 (Figs. 3 and 6a) which are continuous with and are spaced the same distance apart as are the walls 96 of the lower portion of the raceway and may be said to form a slotted nail guiding portion of the raceway.v The walls |04, |06 and |08 thus form a slot which is of funnel-shaped cross section. Formed integral with the wall |06 and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom is a nail collecting plate ||0. The walls 104,106 are continued in a direction generally parallel'to the length of the raceway in walls H2, ||4 (Figs.

3,v 4, 6 and 6a) forming an intermediate portion ||6 (Fig. 3) of the raceway, upper edges of the walls 2, i4 sloping downwardly from the upper edges of the walls |04, |66, respectively, to the upper edges of the-walls 9.6. Thus, proceeding down -the intermediate portion Aof the raceway,

the depth of the sloping portion of-the funnelshaped slot decreases until, at the locality where the walls H2, H4 join the walls 96, the sloping portion vanishes.

The depth. of the slot between the walls |04, :|06 (Figs. 3, 4 and 7) is such that a nail hanging by its head from the upper edges of these walls has itsv shank included' entirely within the sloping portion and no part of the shank of the nail extends between the parallel walls |08. The 'spacing between the walls |04, |06 is such that 'the shan-k 26 of a nail 2|!L can be received therebetween, even with the greater dimension A of the shank extending ,transverselyv of the raceway. Owing tothe decrease in depth of the intermediate portion I6 of the slot between the walls I 2 H4, asthe nails proceed down said portion the spacing between the upper edges of said walls narrows, with the result that the walls effectively orient any nails. attempting to travel down the raceway with the longer dimension A not extending at. least substantially parallel to the length of the raceway, until their shanks are so oriented, as will be hereinafter described.

The raceway is provided with a cover |20 (Figs. 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9) having in its rear wall a guideway |22 (Fig. 3) in which is received a slide |24 to the upper end of which is secured a raceway clearer plate |26 (Figs. 1, 3,and 3a) having an opening |26 (Fig. 3a) of an outline approximately complemental to that` of the heads of the nails, depending portions of the plate at each side of the opening being arranged to engage beveled surfaces cf the raceway. The raceway clearer plate |26 is arranged to be reciprocated lengthwise of the raceway by mechanism including a cam |30 (Fig. l) which. is secured to the shaft 18 and acts on a spring-controlled lever `|32 (Figs. 1 and 3), the spring and arrangement of said mechanism being similar to. that shown in said Letters Patent No. 932,535. The reciproeatory movement of the raceway clearer isA eiective to dislodge any nails traveling crosswise down the raceway or any nails overriding those properly traveling down the raceway. -Any dislodged nails fall into a trough .|34 (Figs. l and 6) from which they are returned to the hopper 66. Should any jamming of the nails occur in the upper or intermediate portions of the raceway, the offending nail or nails may be removed `manually by the operator through an opening |36 (Fig. 6) giving access tothe raceway above the trough |34.

Nails traveling at high speed down the intermediate portion ||6"of the raceway 64 sometimes tend. to be lifted out of the raceway, as hereinafter described. A spring finger |38 (Figs. 1, 6 and' 6d), which is secured to a projection on the rear portion 68 of the hopper 66 and is positioned above the walls ||2, I4, assists inreturning any nails to their proper places in the raceway.

. The slotted nail guideway portion of the raceway formed `loy the walls 08 may be said to form a. slot or guideway |39 of uniform Width, the orienting portion being provided with convergent sides which. merge at their bases with the sides of the slot. Opposite portions of the walls ||2, H4 of the'intermediate portion H6 of theraceway may bedescribed as diminishing in height above adjacent portions of thel slot |39 as they extend down the raceway. or as increasing in height above adjacent portions of the slot as they extend up the raceway. It will be clear that the slot i3d-"which 'has parallelsides and is continuous with-and of the same width as the slot (Fig. 5) formed between the inner walls 96, is slightly wider'than the dimension B of the Shanks of the To separate nails one by one from the lower end portion of the raceway 64, the following means is provided. Rotatably mounted on a horizontal ,stud |40 (Fig. 1) secured to the block 44 on the driver bar 38 is a roll |42 which, during the upward stroke of the driver bar, is arranged to engage a curved surface |44 on an upper portion of a lever |46 pivotally mounted at |48 to the head 36. The lever |46 is urged in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, so that its surface |44 is engaged by the roll |42 on upward movement of the driver bar 38, by a spring |50 connected to the lever and to the head 36.

A member |52 (Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 9) ispivotally 'mounted on a lower end portion .of the lever |46 through the provision of a removable clevis pin v| 54. The member |52 is disposed generally parallel to the upper surfaces of the raceway plates 92 and is reciprocated in a direction extending generally lengthwise of such surfaces and to the right, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, when the roll |42 moves upwardly against the curved surface |44 of the lever |46. The path of the member |52 during its retractive -movement to the left is partially controlled by a cam plate `|56 (Figs. 1, 2 and 5) which forms part of the member |52 and co-operates with a finger |58 pivotally mounted on the raceway 64, as will appear later. The member |52 is urged in a clockwise direction, as viewed' in Figs. 1 and 2, about the pin |54 by a spring |60 connected at its opposite ends to an arm of the member and to the lever |46, respectively. Extending from the' plate |56 in a direction generally parallel` to the raceway is a bar |62 on which is slidably mounted a block |64 (Figs. l, 2 and 9), the block being urged to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, by a coilvspring |66 received in alined bores in the member |52 and in the block |64. The block |64 is retained on the bar |62 by a nose |68 (Figs. 2 and 9) of the bar, the nose usually being engaged by the block. The

block |64 is provided with a bifurcated portion or fingers (Figs. 2, 9 and 13), the fingers being arranged over the raceway and being notched at their bottom portions so as effectively to engage the head of the endmost nail in the raceway, an upper surface |12 (Fig. 13) of each notch being arranged to engage the top surface of the head of said nail, and an angularly disposed downwardly extending surface |14 of each slot being arranged to engage the rear surface 30 of the head of the nail.

The finger |58 (Figs. l, 2 and 5) is received in an upwardly extending slot |16 (Figs. 2 and 5) in a plate |18 secured to the front raceway plate 92 and is pivotally mounted at its central portion on a fulcrum pin |80 extending transversely across the slot |16. A depending lever |82 formed at the lower portion of the finger |58 is engaged by one end of a compression spring |84 (Fig. 5) received in a bore in the plate |18, the spring urging the finger in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5, about its fulcrum pin |80. An upper end portion of the finger |58 is provided with a rounded surface |86 which is arranged to engage cam surfaces, now to be described, on the cam plate |56 which is formed integral with the member |52. The plate |56 has cam surfaces |88 (Figs. 1 and 2) and |90, the cam surface |90 having a downwardly extending portion |92 (Fig. 2) which extends forwardly and to the right of the machine.

A lower end portion of the raceway cover is provided with an arm |94 (Figs. 2, 8,9, and 13) having a hooked end portion |96. The arm |94 is pivotally mounted on the cover |20 by a forwardly and rearwardly extending fulcrum pin |98V (Fig. 8). The arm |94 is urged in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 8, about the pin |98 by means of a spring 200 interposed between a lug of the arm and a surface of the raceway cover |20. Movement of the arm |94 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 1, 2 and 8, is limited by contact of abutment surfaces located at 202 on the arm |94 and on the raceway cover |20, respectively. The arm |94 extends between the fingers |10 of the block |64 and is normally held in such a position that its hooked end portion |96 engages the front or leading face 30 of the head of the endmost nail 20, 'as best shown in Fig. 13.

To a lower end portion of a lever 204 (Fig. 1) pivotally mounted above a transversely extending fulcrum stud 206 secured to the head 36 is secured a separator cam finger 208 (Fig. 10) which is similar to lower cam fingers of well-known separators now in use. The upper end portion 'of the lever 204 has a roll 2|0 rotatably mounted thereon, the roll being held in engagement with a cam 2| 2 on the cam shaft 34 by the provision of a torsion spring 2| 4. The operation of the separator cam finger 263 will be described later.

As above stated, the nail receiving block 98 (Figs. 1, 10 `and 11) has a passage |00 through which the driver |02 reciprocates. Detachably secured to the block 98 i5 :a throat 2|6 in which is a passage 2| 8 (Figs. 10 and 11) alined with the lower end of the passage |00. In the side wall of the block 98 adjacent to the lower end of the raceway 64 is an opening 220 through which a nail separated from the raceway enters the passage |00. At least the lower portion of the passage |00 and the passage 2| 8 have cross sections corresponding to that of the bases of the frusto-pyramidal heads of the hobnails and are of suitable size to 4guide the nails through the block 98 and the throat 2 I6 with the desired orientation. The machine is provided with the usual nail guiding means having the form of fingers 222 pivotally mounted on the block 98 at 224 and urged together by a C-shaped spring 226 end portions of which are arranged to be received in notches 228 in the ngers 222.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the driver |02 (Fig. 12) has a lower end portion which is shaped to engage the head of the nail in such a way as to assist in controlling the orientation of the nail until it is fully driven into the work. The lower end portion of the driver is recessed to receive the head of the nail, sloping walls 230 and 232 of the recess being arranged to engage the opposite faces 30 of the heads of the nails, the wall 232 on that side of the recess remote from the raceway extending somewhat lower than the corresponding wall 230 on the side of the recess adjacent to the raceway.

The operation of the machine will now be described. The rotary portion (not shown) of the hopper 66 is continuously rotated by means of the belt and pulley drive 16 so that ns (not shown) attached to the inner surface of this portion of the hopper lift nails from a bulk thereof in the hopper and drop them onto the trough 84. As the nails slide down `the trough 84 toward the upper portion of the raceway 64, the slot assists in positioning the nails shank downward ready to fall into the upper portion'of the raceway. The nail collecting plate also assists in the delivery of the nails to the raceway. Some of the nails falling on the upper portion of the raceway are received thereby with their shanks arranged between the walls |04', |06 and their heads resting on the upper edgesl thereof, the greater dimension A of the shanks of some of the nails extending transversely across the raceway, while the greater dimension A of the Shanks of other nails extends parallel to the raceway, or in directions intermediate said two directions.

The nails which are received by the upper portion of the raceway and which are oriented so 4that the dimension A of their Shanks` does not extend parallel to the direction of the raceway, that is, so that the greater dimension L of the heads does not extend transversely of the raceway will, because of the vibration of the machine and partly because of the shapes of the nails, tend to orient themselves with the dimension L of their heads extending transversely of the raceway since this is a position of minimum potential energy of a train of nails. Any nails that do not become so oriented in the upper por-- tion of the raceway will be oriented in the intermediate portion ||6 thereof since, as the nails travel down this portion of the. raceway, they reach a location in which their shanks engage the sloping walls ||2, H4. As nails which have not been oriented continue to travel down the raceway, they tend to be lifted out of the raceway but their weight and any action of the spring |38 tend to return them, and the sloping walls 2, ||4 act to rotate the shanks of the nailsI until the shorter dimension B thereof extends transversely of the raceway so that the Shanks can be received between the walls |08 of the` raceway which, as above stated, are continuous with the Walls 96. Nails in the lower or delivery portion of the raceway will all have been oriented so that the dimension A `of their shanks extends parallel tothe raceway, the greater dimension L of -their heads extending across the raceway.

. Assuming that the machine has been previously operated, the front face 30 of the head of the endmost nail 20 in the raceway 64 will be in engagement with the hooked end portion |96 of the arm |94, the rear face 30 ofthe head ofsaid nail willbe engaged .by the surfaces |14 of the fingers |l .of the block |64, and the top surface of the nail will be engaged by thesurfaces |12 of the fingers |10, the `parts occupying the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 13. l

. The operator then positions a boot on the horn (not shown)` and depresses a treadle (not shown) o f the machine for raising the horn in order to clamp the sole of the boot against the foot plate 82, after which further depression of the treadle is effective to trip the clutchof the machine. This causes rotation of the cam shaft 34 which, in turn, causes the awl 48 to prick an opening in the sole of the boot. While the awl is still in engagement with the sole, the horn is unlocked while the head 36 swings in a clockwise direction, asviewed vin Fig. 1, to cause the awl to effect feeding of the boot (the amount of feed depending upon the position of the block 58 in its guideway 60), whereupon the boot is again clamped against the foot plate 82, the awl is withdrawn from the sole, and the head is returned to the position shown in Fig. 1 tolocate the driver |02 and the throat 2|6 over'y the pricked opening in the sole.

' As the cam shaft 34 rotates, the cam 42 raises the driver bar 38 and the driver |02 and, as the driver nears the top of its stroke, the roll |42 engages the curved surface |44 on the lever |46, causing the lever to rock in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, about its pivot |48. This rocking of the lever |46 is effective to move the member |52` in a path generally parallel to the raceway so that the fingers |10, by engagement with the head of the endmost nail, push the nail from under the hooked end portion |96 of the arm |94 (the arm yielding against the action of the spring 200) through the opening 220 in the nail receiving block 98 and into the passage |00 therein. During the movement of the nail, the portion |96A of the arm |94 bears against the head of the nail with considerable pressure, thus facilitatingl the controlling of the nail by the lingers |10 of the block |84. At the same time, the camrning finger 208 is moved forwardly, (that is, transversely of the raceway) under the action of the cam 2|2 to engage the shank of the nail and to urge it through a lower portion 234 of the opening 220, after which the finger 208 closes said lower portion 234, during the driving of the nail on descent of the driver. During the driving of the nail, the orientation thereof is controlled by the cross-sectional shape of the passages |80, 2i8 and by, the engagement of the shaped lower` end portion of the driver with the head of the nail.

During the separation of the nail, if any jamming occurs between the nail and the rising driver, the block |64 will yield relatively to the member |152, against the action of its spring- |66 so as to prevent damage to the parts. As soon as the driver has risen clear of the nail, the latter will enter the passage in the block 98 through the opening 220. After the separation of the endmost nail, when the member |52 is moved its maximum distance to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, the next nail will be retained in the raceway by the hooked end portion |96 of the arm |94, and the cam surface |88 on the member |52 at this time will have been brought into alinement with the rounded surface |86 of' the linger |58, whereupon the spring |84 swings the linger in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5, to carry the upper end portion of the nger under the surface |88. l

During the descent of the driver |02 (an initial portion of which is controlled by a surface 236 on the cam 42 so that the member |52 will have had at least a part of its retractive movement, now to be described, imparted to it before nal descent of the driver so that no fouling of the lingers |10 of the block |64 with the driver occurs), the roll |42 rides out of engagement with the surface |44 of the lever |46 and the vspring |50 swings the lever in a clockwise direction to carry the member |52 upwardly and tothe left, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. As the member |52 is moved to the left, the plate |56 rides on the upper end portion of the linger |58 until the surface |90 is resting on the finger, thus swinging the member |52 in a counterclockwise direction about the pin |54 against the action of the spring |68, to lift the ngers |10 of the block |64 over the head of the rnail l which is now endmost in the raceway. Further the slight movement of the member |52 to the left causes the cam surface |92 of the plate |56 to engage the rounded end surface |86 of the finger |58 to cam the finger in a'counterclock- Wise direction into the position it occupies in Fig. 5, thus allowing the member |52 to be turned in a clockwise direction about the pin |54 by the action of the spring |611 so as to cause the surfaces i12, |74 to descend into engagement with and to be forced against the head of the endmost nail in the raceway. The parts now occupy their initial positions and the machine is ready for the next cycle of operation.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A nail raceway having a slotted nail guiding portion and an orienting portion provided with downwardly convergent sides the bases of which are continuous with the sides of the slot.

2. Ina nailing machine, an inclined nail raceway having a slotted nail guiding portion and an orienting portion provided with downwardly convergent sides which merge at their bases with the sides of the slot and opposite portions of which diminish in height above adjacent portions of the slot as they extend down the raceway.

3. In a nailing machine, an inclined movable raceway, and an inclined trough constructed and arranged to receive a plurality of hobnails, said trough having a bottom a lower end portion of which is provided with a slot which is arranged above and overlaps the raceway and which is adapted to facilitate the delivery of nails with their shanks downward to the raceway.

4. In a nailing machine, an inclined raceway, and an inclined trough constructed and arranged to receive a plurality of hobnails, said trough having a bottom a lower end portion of which is provided with a slot which is arranged above and overlaps the raceway, said slot being considerably wider than the shanks of the nails but narrower than the heads of the nails in order to facilitate the delivery of the nails with their shanks downward to the raceway.

5. In a nailing machine, an inclined vibrating raceway comprising a delivery portion provided with a slot which has parallel sides and is slightly wider than the narrowest cross-sectional dimension of the shanks of nails fed along the raceway but is narrower than other cross-sectional dimensions of said shank, said raceway also comprising an orienting portion part of which tapers heightwise and is constructed and arranged to support the nails by engagement with the bottoms of their heads and to cause the nails as they slide down the raceway rotatingly to enter the slot into positions in which the narrowest cross-sectional dimensions of their shanks extend transversely of the raceway.

6. In a nailing machine, an inclined raceway for feeding hobnails having shanks of rectangular cross section, said raceway comprising orienting and delivery portions having a continuous slot of a substantially uniform width slightly greater than that of the narrower faces of the shanks of the nails, said orienting portion having extending from the upper ends of the sides of the slot upwardly diverging sides respectively which increase in height above adjacent portions of the slot as they extend upwardly away from the delivery portion, and yieldable means operating against the heads of the nails to force said heads against said orienting portion and to co-operate therewith in turning the nails to the proper positions to be received in the delivery portion of the raceway.

'7. In a nailing machine, a raceway for feeding hobnails a cross-sectional dimension of the shank of each of which in one direction is less than the cross-sectional dimension in other directions, said raceway comprising a delivery portion having a slot of a substantially uniform width which is slightly greater than the cross-sectional dimension of the shank of the nail in said one direction but isv narrower than other cross-sectional dimensions of the shank, said raceway also comprising an orienting portion having a slot of funnel-shaped cross section the spout portion of which is of approximately the same width as and is continuous with the slot of said delivery portion.

8. In a nailing machine, a raceway for hobnails having shanks of rectangular cross section, a lower length of said raceway having a parallelsided guideway of a width slightly greater than that of the smaller cross-sectional dimension of the shanks of nails but of a width less than the larger cross-sectional dimension of said shanks, an upper length of said raceway having a guideway a slotted portion of which is of the same width as and is continuous with the first-named guideway, said upper length of the raceway having a pair of side walls which extend divergingly upward from said slotted portion of the guideway and increase in height above corresponding parts of said slotted portion as they extend along the raceway away from the lower length of the raceway.

9. A nailing machine having, in combination, a driver, a throat having a passage, and means comprising a raceway for delivering to said passage nails having shanks a cross-sectional dimension of which in one direction is less than cross-sectional dimensions in other directions, said raceway havingr a slot of a width slightly greater than the cross-sectional dimension of the shanks of the nails in said one direction but less than the cross-sectional dimension of said shanks in said other directions, the raceway also having a nail orienting portion provided with upwardly diverging sides which merge at their bases with the opposite sides respectively of the slotted portion and increase in height above adjacent portions of said slotted portion as they extend away from the throat.

l0. In a nailing machine, an inclined raceway comprising an orienting portion having a slotted bottom of uniform width and sides which extend upwardly and outwardly from each other and are of decreasing height above adjacent portions of the slotted bottom as they extend down the raceway, and a resilient plate arranged above said orienting portion and constructedand arranged to be engaged by the heads of nails moving down the raceway and to co-operate therewith to turn the nails so that their shanks may be received by the slot.

11. In a nailing machine, a raceway comprising an orienting portion an upper end of which has upwardly diverging sides which are spaced apart sui-liciently toenable nails having shanks of nonuniform cross-sectional dimensions and supported by the bottoms of their heads upon the upper edges of said sides to turn about the axes of the shanks of the nails as they move down the raceway, a lower end of said orienting portion having a slotted bottom of uniform width which is slightly greater than the least crosssectional dimensions of the shanks of the nails and having sides which extend upwardly and outwardly and which are of decreasing height above the adjacent slotted bottom as they extend down the raceway and are continuous with the sides ing an orienting portion an upper end of which has upwardly diverging sides which are spaced apart sufciently to enable hobnails having shanks of rectangular cross section and supported by their heads upon upper edges of said sides to turn about the axes of their Shanks as they move down the raceway, a lower end of said orienting portion having a slotted bottom of uniform width which is slightly greater than the lesser cross-sectional dimension of the shank of the nail and having sides which extend upwardly and outwardly and which are of decreasing height above the adjacent slotted bottom as they extend down the raceway and are continuous with the sides of said upper end of the orienting portion, and a yieldable member constructed and arranged to engage the heads of the nails in the lower end of said orienting portion of the raceway and to co-operate with said portion to turn the nails whenever necessary so that their Shanks shall be received in said slotted bottom, said raceway also comprising a delivery portion having a slot which is continuous with the slotted bottom and is of a uniform width equal to that of said slotted bottom.

ALFRED EDWARD RICHARDS. MAURICE ROBERTS. 

